ArtLab

ArtLab is based at the University of Reading in the Art department, and was founded by artist and academic Assoc. Professor of Art, Tina O’Connell in association with Artist and Researcher Dr Kate Allen and will be led in 2017-18 by Artists Florian Roithmayr and Wendy McLean

Christ the King Primary School – 13th June

Meet our co-researchers from today: exploring the potential of littlebits in animating, lighting, and sound-tracking an inspiring new world of public art for Reading:

After introducing ourselves, the ArtLab team asked year 6 what Reading meant to them? Their answers: home, security, football, school, their classmates, the oracle… What does International mean? Countries, languages, travel, stories..

The session started with an active investigation into Littlebits and how they can be arranged, ordered and affect each other, before launching into four zones of enquiry; sound and weather, magical creatures, artefacts and dwellings.

Following on from 2016’s Creature in a Cup workshops the four themes evolved out of spring term workshops with UOR BA Art students. We were interested in developing parallel stories in workshops that come together at the end of the day and reflected the interests and ambitions of a class for their home town.

What do we need from the spaces we inhabit? (dwellings)

How do we interpret the objects around us? How can we hack/reinvent/reimagine objects we don’t know from materials which are new to us (3d print – artefacts)

What can we achieve collectively? What everyday superpowers would we have? (magical creatures)

What do you hear around you? What do you hear in your favourite place in the world? Where can sound take us to? (sound and weather)

The videos and images below chart some of the inventions, aspirations and dreams that emerged from the four starting points in one day at Christ the King Primary School.